friedman speaks vegas

Synopsis

section 2

BILL'S NEVER-BEFORE-TOLD STORIES COME DIRECTLY FROM THE MEN WHO
LIVED THEM

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Every story Bill presents in his speech is taken from his historical academic research. Each was told to him by one or more of Nevada’s hoodlums, gaming control officials, or casino owners or
executives, or he discovered it in previously unexplored documents.

Bill is making each of his stories public for the first time because no one has ever told them or written about them before. The so-called biographical books about America’s gangsters and those
about the early Las Vegas casino industry are almost totally fictional accounts. Not one of these authors ever interviewed any of these notorious hoods or their associates, and few researched
documents or records. They simply took a dozen or so major headlines and wrote fantasy versions of their lives.

In reality, the gangsters of this era were very different from those portrayed in crime books and screen presentations. Their real-life problems forced them to create far different solutions and
become involved in more incredible encounters than presented in the dramas conjured up by the standard themes used by authors and screenwriters.

EVERY ONE OF BILL'S STORIES IS UNIQUE

The stories in Bill’s speech are likely the most interesting, novel, and exciting ever assembled on any subject. They are real life and death drama as it has never been realistically presented by
books or on the screen. Bill presents the ultimate American gangster story with all the glamour Las Vegas has to offer.

THE GREAT GAMBLERS OF THE ROARING ‘20s AND GREAT DEPRESSION

Bill covers the highlights of the country’s greatest gamblers during this era – Arnold Rothstein, Nick the Greek, and System Smitty. Every time one of these men went into action, he risked his
entire bankroll. Their lives were filled with excitement, frustration, and foreboding doom. Each of these men lived a very different but astonishing lifestyle.

THE GREAT ENTERTAINERS FROM THE ROARING ’20s THROUGH THE EARLY YEARS OF THE LAS VEGAS STRIP

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Several of America’s great illegal casino operations of the 1930s and 1940s were fronted by outstanding nightclubs featuring the greatest entertainers of their day. A few were favorites with the
gambling clientele, and they went on to be the greatest draws of high-rolling gamblers at the early Las Vegas Strip resorts. These stars set the standards for performance in the Strip showrooms
during the half century they featured America’s finest saloon entertainers.

THE UNUSUAL PERSONAL LIVES OF ORGANIZED-CRIME FIGURES

Organized-crime and Mafia wives are a unique breed with an unusual lifestyle. When a gangster is murdered, his wife always says he was a good man who had no enemies and she never had any idea what
business he was in. But what is the truth. Bill describes what home life was like for these hoodlums and their families.

Organized-crime movies have popularized the term “going to the mattresses” in reference to all-out gang wars, but what is life really like when hiding from stalking enemies? Bill describes how
these men ensure their survival by living in seclusion to avoid discovery.

None of the gangsters and organized-crime leaders during this period was anything like how they have been presented in the media or by Hollywood’s fictional characters in movies and television
crime productions. Bill reveals for the first time what these mobsters were really like because he was the only outsider ever accepted into their world. No other author, media investigation,
legislative hearing, or criminal proceeding has ever punctured the veil into what these gangsters’ everyday lives and legitimate business dealings were like.